How a surprise deal to boost world oil supply could 'stir the pot' in the Middle East, and pressure Saudi's spare capacity

“Riyadh and Moscow are calling the shots, being the largest producers with the capacity to adjust output readily and in size,” wrote Konstantinos Venetis, senior economist at research firm TS Lombard Research, in a note earlier this week. That position, however, isolated some OPEC countries eager to reap more revenue from higher prices.
As Iranian supply is squeezed by sanctions and Venezuela’s production hampered by a relentless deterioration in its economy, “Saudi Arabia with the [Gulf Cooperation Council Countries] and Russia are easily able to take up this kind of slack – Aramco alone has spare capacity of 2 million barrels per day, according to its CEO,” Venetis said, referring to Saudi’s massive public oil giant.